The occasional, often ill-considered thoughts of a Roman Catholic permanent deacon who is ever grateful to God for his existence. Despite the strangeness we encounter in this life, all the suffering we witness and endure, being is good, so good I am sometimes unable to contain my joy. Deo gratias!

The thoughts expressed here are my personal thoughts and sometimes reflect my political views. As a private citizen I have every right to express these views.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Tomorrow we take our leave of Massachusetts and begin our wanderings back home to Florida. We've planned a circuitous route via upstate New York and Northern Virginia to visit old friends and then...well, who knows? We're not in a hurry, so we'll likely get sidetracked by all sorts of attractions en route -- the kind of places we always bypassed on previous trips because we simply didn't have the time or could not imagine visiting with four kids in tow. We'll see.

All eight of our grandchildren are, of course, exceptional children, and we ask God's blessing on them all. But our special treat on this trip was being there for the birth and subsequent Baptism of newly born Benedito. As any grandparent knows, visiting with children and grandchildren is always a joy. Naturally, Diane and I have been encouraging them all to come stay with us in sunny Florida. We probably won't see any of them real soon, but once the weather up here changes, Florida becomes a much more attractive place to visit.

For the past few days we've been staying at a local hotel while visiting our younger daughter and her husband, along with their two wonderful boys, Ezekiel and Phineas -- two great Old Testament names. It's been fun just playing with our grandsons and catching up on family stuff. As usual, I've taken far too many photos, and have included a few below...

Daughter, Siobhan, and Diane

Diane with Grandson, Phineas

Grandson, Ezekiel, Just Enjoying Life

Our journey may not be as momentous as Pope Benedict's current visit to the UK, but we're doing our bit as we travel and visit.

Diocese of Orlando

Vatican Insider

Association of Hebrew Catholics

Ignatius Press

Some Personal Stuff

I'm a permanent deacon of the Roman Catholic Church, incardinated in the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, but now living and ministering in the Diocese of Orlando, Florida. I'm also a retired naval aviator, educator, and business consultant. Politically -- perhaps more accurately, philosophically -- I'm a Russell Kirk conservative. More importantly, though, I am husband of the beautiful Diane, the father of four, and grandfather of nine.